“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” ~ Ephesians 3:14-21

Last Friday and Saturday your three delegates and I attended the inaugural Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Online General Assembly, and what an amazing time we had! I gave stats during worship on Sunday, and you will hear from each of the delegates over the coming three Sundays. For now, I just want to share a little from my point of view.

One of the many things I have come to love about the Disciples, is the truly democratic polity they embody. Every ordained or licensed clergy (including chaplains, and other leaders) gets to vote. And every church – yes – EVERY SINGLE CHURCH gets three delegates to vote.

I also love that not every voice agrees. In the spaces in which we gather, the goal is to work toward “unity, not uniformity.” In fact, the identity statement of the Christian Church (DOC) is “We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God as welcomed us.” And what a difference that makes when the outside world believes we must all be uniform or you cannot belong.

This hospitality, unity and not uniformity, allows us to be who God is calling us to be as individuals, while working together. But so often we don’t want to work together, or don’t want to see the other person’s perspective.

But we are called to do just that—to be in community and learn to work together instead of divide. And once again, the Christian Church reminded me that there is a space where this is practiced. Are we perfect at it? NO. In fact, we may not even be good at it. But we are practicing. And when we don’t behave with radical hospitality, we are invited to seek reconciliation by asking for, and offering forgiveness, as God has forgiven us.

We are far from perfect. We will never be perfect. But I am grateful that we, as Faith First Community Church, are rooted in God’s love and forgiveness, so that we may practice radical hospitality to all God’s beloved.

Always Peace,
Pastor Heidi

KITCHEN CHRONICLES—The kitchen is FINISHED! It has been four months to the day (March 12—July 12) since we were able to do anything in the kitchen. We are so thankful for all your prayers through this process, as well as the patience of allowing us to use the church kitchen. When I return from vacation, we will have a kitchen blessing and you will be able to come and check it out!